The Blog.

Get a job in advertising: become an Account Manager, from G2

A late blog post from me. I recently moved house which means unfortunately my blog has had to take a back seat. However, things have settled down now and I’m starting to get back into a routine, so with that, comes a new interview! This weeks interview is with Dave Wright from G2, who will discuss how to become an Account Manager and how he got to where he is today.

Dave studied Advertising at Southampton Solent University, graduating in 2011 and became an Account Manager for G2 not long after. This interview with Dave, about his tips and experiences on how to become an Account Manager is a perfect example of what hard work, persistence and dedication can get you.

1. What’s your day to day role?

My day to day role involves the general running of the projects to which I am assigned, such as the British Tobacco account. As an Account Manager you need to be the ‘go to’ person for project and brand information.If a project is just kicking off, this could involve digesting a client brief and turning it into a short, thought provoking creative brief. This could also be meeting clients and Planners, to try and define the strategy that will drive the work we are about to undertake; positioning, target consumer, generating insight etc…If a project is under-way, this would involve arranging internal catch-up’s with my team to ensure that all is on-track for the deadline and that all is on brief. Externally, this could be meeting with the client to show the work-in-progress and discuss their thoughts on its progression. We would then define the next-steps needed to get us to where we want to be, plan the appropriate resources (for example, if we need some Creatives to proof some visuals to see if they work on paper, or just generic desk research) and ensure it’s all actioned quickly, in time for the next review.

If a project is coming to an end, it’s usually a mad dash to meet the deadline, involving lots of stress and working straight for 36 hours. Putting final presentations together usually involves getting assets from several different people, rewriting things that you have only just realised aren’t quite making sense and proof-reading until you’re not even sure it’s English you’re reading anymore. Despite the stress, it’s incredibly rewarding once the job is done!

Aside from this, I run my teams budget and financial goings-on, by keeping tabs on the projects budgets and reporting back to the client to inform them of what is being spent and where.

2. How did you get to where you are now?

I completed the Advertising BA at Southampton Solent University, making sure that I was involved in any (and all) extra curricular activity that I could be (IP@CE, D&AD, IDM Marketing School, Sports teams etc…) This helped massively with regards to talking points during interviews and gave great perspective on the process of writing a campaign in a team under pressured situations.

“Opportunities can come to you if you put yourself in the right positions to begin with.”

Once completing the IDM Summer School (highly recommended by the way), I moved straight to London where I spent my days sending out self promotion pieces. I started with just a CV (which didn’t get me very far), so I built a website about myself, got a QR code to make my CV readable on mobile and sent out creative applications via direct mail. Eventually one of my applications impressed an agency, who told me they had no space themselves, but recommended a few that they thought I’d do well in. G2 was at the top of that list, so I emailed them directly and got a response within days. I also received two further offers from agencies who had been at the IDM Summer School – proof that opportunities can come to you if you put yourself in the right positions to begin with.

3. What was the biggest challenge you faced in getting to where you are now?

Definitely getting noticed. The unfortunate reality is that agencies have very little time of patience when it comes to hiring. If a team needs to hire someone, they will brief their recruiter of HR department and say “get me an Account Manager ASAP”. This happens very quickly, so unless you have either stood out to someone in the past, or your timing is perfect/lucky, it’s very hard to get noticed. I was extremely lucky. When I sent in my application, the existing Account Exec was moving on, so a space had opened up.

It is also crushingly demoralising when you’re sending out what you think is a brilliant application and you don’t even get so much as a reply saying ‘no’. I sent applications to many agencies that I spent a lot of time (and money) on creating and hand delivering and they didn’t even acknowledge it. They is to keep improving your applications and be relentless. Someone will notice it and the boost to your confidence when they do is phenomenal.

4. What advice would give to budding Account Managers?

Get internships and placements and do extra curricular activities at any given opportunity. Enter competitions and put yourself out there whenever possible.

Unless you’re extremely lucky, it may take one month, or six months of non-stop applications before you get an interview somewhere. But when you do, you need to be able to talk yourself up with relevant experience because agencies don’t just interview one person for the role, they interview many.

5. What steps would you recommend to getting into Account Management?

Utilise the University staff for proof-reading your CV. You would be amazing how ruthless potential employers are over the quality of someone’s CV and you don’t realise how bad your first attempt is until someone has proof-read it (trust me, mine was awful!)

In Account Management you will be expected to be able to take a ten page client brief and cut it down to less than one page of factual, but thought provoking copy to inspire a Creative Team. If your CV is long and messy, then it’s not a great first impression.

I’d also recommend that before you go blanket emailing a load of agencies, try contacting recruitment companies first. Again, the harsh reality is that most of them have very little time for Graduates, but if your CV is strong enough and they’re hunting for an Account Manager, they’ll put you forward. Once a recruiter has put your CV in, you know it’s guaranteed to be read by an agency.

6. What has been your career highlight so far?

Helping to complete my first global manifesto (like a toolkit for a marketing campaign) and sending it off to the worldwide hubs for circulation. Also free beer on Thursdays.

Amanda Cobb
I'm an Advertising graduate from Southampton Solent University, working in marketing and loving it! I like to blog about all things marketing and advertising related and tweet about it occasionally too - follow me @mandypops thanks!